Category Archives: Cupcakes

My daughter absolutely loves the “Line Friends” store in Times Square. The store features adorable plush versions of the characters from a Japanese and Korean messaging app called Line. Most center around a bear named “Brown.” As a pig enthusiast, my daughter owns two “Piggy Brown” plush in her personal collection. She requested a red velvet version of “Piggy Brown” to celebrate her 12th birthday! She also requested an Oreo-cream cheese frosting filling. The results were super cute and delicious.

Both of my kids have winter birthdays. Because my son decided to celebrate his with a gold standard household favorite, a Rainbow Sprinkle Cake, I am combining their “birthday posts” by sharing their number cookie photos at the same time. For those of you who don’t know, my kids always have birthday sugar cookies to celebrate their age. 🙂 This year, my son celebrated his 14th birthday and my daughter celebrated her 12th. ❤

I thought that it was the perfect time to share this cake because a red velvet layer cake would also be a fabulous Valentine’s Day dessert. ❤ The cake recipe was adapted from Martha Stewart Living, the cream cheese frosting adapted from various sources. I used a single vanilla cupcake for the pig snout and bear nose, recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction. The pig ears were made with reserved number cookie dough.

A couple of my friends thought that I was joking when I told them that I try not to bake that much! I am trying not to… 😉

That being said, I was dying to make these as soon as I saw them on Marisa’s Italian Kitchen. She made them in the most darling muffin pan too. This recipe was adapted from New York City’s Clinton Street Baking Company Cookbook, via Marisa’s Italian Kitchen. I incorporated white whole wheat flour, modified the proportions, and reduced the baking time.

In a small bowl, mix together all the Crumb Topping ingredients using a pastry blender, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Refrigerate the crumb mixture until your ready to use it. (This can be prepared in advance.)

Preheat the oven to 350 F, preferably on convection.

Line a muffin pan with 10 paper muffin cups or coat with cooking oil spray.

Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Add the egg and the lemon zest to the mixture and blend until combined.

Whisk the flour, baking powder and baking soda in a separate bowl.

Mix in ¼ cup of the sour cream into the butter mixture, then half of the flour mixture and repeat with the rest of the sour cream and flour mixture. Do not over mix!

Gently fold in the 1 cup of raspberries with a rubber spatula until evenly distributed.

Scoop the batter into the muffin cups and top each muffin with 1 tablespoon of the Crumb Mix and a raspberry.

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, on a middle rack, until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

Who isn’t a fan of an ice cream sandwich? We love every variation in my house, so, naturally, I had to try this version using vanilla cupcake tops.

This recipe was adapted from Food and Wine, contributed by Candace Nelson. I made the cupcake tops using a muffin top pan to give them more surface area- genius, right?

We gobbled up these all-American treats for dessert during the Super Bowl this year. I filled half with salted caramel gelato and half with vanilla bean ice cream. The vanilla ice cream-filled sandwiches were our favorite.

My son was blessed with a snow day on his 13th birthday! We were able to load him up with his favorite meals all day long. 🙂

After having Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins for breakfast, some sort of meaty concoction involving kielbasa, sliced sourdough baguette, melted cheese and garlic powder prepared by my husband for lunch, and his ultimate favorite, Thai One-Pot, for dinner, we topped off the day with these Butterbeer Cupcakes. ❤

He is such a Harry Potter fan; he has read the series over fourteen times, now losing count. After visiting both Harry Potter Worlds at Universal Studios in Orlando, he is a HUGE butter beer fan as well. (We tried every version available. 🙂 )

This recipe is from PastryAffair.com, adapted from Amy Bites. I added cream to the frosting and halved the ganache recipe. I halved the recipe below with success; I weighed one beaten egg to use “half” of an egg.

I can’t believe that I have a teenager in my house! So sad to make “13” Number Cookies…

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Using a stand mixer, beat together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Beat in the vanilla extract and butter flavoring.

With the mixer on low, add 1/3 of the flour mixture, then the buttermilk, 1/3 of the flour mixture, cream soda, and then the remaining flour. Mix just until incorporated. Do not overtax!

Fill cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full and bake for 15 minutes one tin at a time, or 16 minutes for 2 trays (rotating halfway through baking), or until the cupcakes are golden and spring back when touched.

Cool completely before frosting.

For the Butterscotch Ganache:

5.5 ounces (1/2 package) butterscotch chips

1/2 cup heavy cream

In a small saucepan on medium heat, melt the butterscotch chips into the heavy cream, stirring until smooth.

Remove from heat and cool to room temperature before using.

For the Butterscotch Buttercream:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup butterscotch ganache (recipe above)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon butter flavoring

pinch of coarse salt

3 cups powdered sugar

2-4 T heavy cream (as needed)

Using a stand mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Mix in the butterscotch ganache, vanilla, butter flavoring, and salt.

Beat in the powdered sugar for 2 to 3 minutes, until incorporated.

Add the cream a tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is achieved (I used 4 tablespoons).

Beat until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.

To Assemble:

Pour butterscotch ganache into a plastic squeeze bottle. Stab the tip of the bottle into each cupcake, completely immersing the tip, and fill with butterscotch ganache until it starts to overflow.

Fill a pastry bag with butterscotch buttercream and pipe onto the top of each cupcake.

Drizzle on the butterscotch ganache, as desired.

Notes:

If you have any leftover butterscotch ganache, it can be used as ice cream topping.

Store cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before serving.

We seem to have less and less time to enjoy special breakfasts in my house. 😦 Overscheduled and overbooked, I’m afraid… Thankfully, we’ve made time to enjoy these baked doughnuts on a few occasions. Eating cake for breakfast makes up for less frequent indulgences!

This recipe was adapted from King Arthur Flour. My pans made smaller doughnuts, so I adapted the cooking time. I made the vanilla glazed and powdered sugar-coated versions but included recipes for cinnamon-sugar coated, as well as for chocolate and apple cider glazes. I won’t stop until I’ve tried them all. 🙂 Such a treat!

Yield: 20 doughnuts

For the Doughnuts:

4 T unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 T vegetable oil

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 to 1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg, to taste

3/4 teaspoon coarse salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

11. 25 oz (319 g or 2 2/3 cups) all-purpose flour

1 cup milk (I used 1 percent)

cinnamon-sugar, Confectioners’ sugar, or assorted glazes

sprinkles, toasted coconut, or chopped nuts, for topping, optional

Preheat the oven to 425°F, preferably on convection. Lightly grease two doughnut pans with cooking spray.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl or stand mixer, beat together the butter, vegetable oil, and sugars until smooth.

Add the eggs, beating to combine.

Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, salt, and vanilla.

Stir the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour and making sure everything is thoroughly combined.

Spoon the batter into the lightly greased doughnut pans, filling the wells to about 1/4″ shy of the rim. (I filled each well with 2 small cookie scoops of batter.)

Bake the doughnuts for 6-7 minutes. Remove them from the oven, and wait 5 minutes before turning them out of the pans onto a rack.

Finish with desired coating, glaze, and/or topping, as desired.

For frosted doughnuts, see the three easy doughnut glazes (recipe below). Sprinkle the glazed doughnuts with sprinkles, toasted coconut, or chopped nuts, if desired.

For Cinnamon Sugar-Coated Doughnuts:

For cinnamon doughnuts, shake warm doughnuts in a plastic bag with about 1/4 to 1/3 cup cinnamon-sugar.

For Powdered Sugar- Coated Doughnuts:

For sugar-coated doughnuts, shake doughnuts in a plastic bag with about 1/2 cup Confectioners’ sugar.

Three Easy Doughnut Glazes:

Yield: about 1/2 cup glaze each

For the Vanilla Glaze:

1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted to remove any lumps

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

1 tablespoon melted butter

1 to 2 tablespoons milk or water

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Stir the ingredients together, adding extra liquid or confectioners’ sugar to adjust the consistency as needed.

Dip top of doughnuts in glaze, or drizzle glaze over doughnuts.

For the Chocolate Glaze:

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt the ingredients together over low heat or in the microwave, stirring often. Add extra corn syrup if needed to make a smooth, shiny glaze.

Dip top of doughnuts in glaze, or drizzle glaze over doughnuts.

For the Apple Cider Glaze:

2 tablespoons bottled boiled cider

1 tablespoon heavy cream

1 cup Confectioners’ or glazing sugar

Stir all of the ingredients together, adding additional sugar or cream if needed to make the glaze the consistency of molasses.

The lollipop candles on this birthday cake inspired the theme for my daughter’s 10th birthday party. As soon as she saw them, about ten months before her birthday, she started planning a “Candy Shop” themed party.

Knowing we would have the guests watch the most classic candy movie, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, we invited her guests by hand delivering a “Golden Ticket” wrapped with a giant rainbow swirl lollipop. (The biggest ones we could find, of course.) 🙂

She imagined an abundant display of colorful candy and rainbow balloons. We had bowls of Skittles, M&M’s, mini-Starbursts, jelly beans, gummy bears, mini-marshmallows, mini-Twix (her favorite candy), and varieties of sprinkles. The centerpiece was a DumDum lollipop “topiary.”

The girls ate a lot of candy , but they also used it to decorate chocolate covered marshmallows and chocolate-caramel apple slices. We also had pretzels for toppings- so yummy with chocolate. We tried to coat Oreos with chocolate as well, but had technical difficulties.

We had other candy-themed activities at the party including making candy necklaces on kitchen twine. They used Fruit Loops, gummy pendants, and gummy lifesavers as “beads.” They also played a game with Jelly Belly jelly beans- identifying the flavors by taste alone. Even though is wasn’t a candy-themed activity, the kids probably had the most fun having an iMovie competition.

Having a cake covered in a mound of sprinkles seemed to work with our theme! The Rainbow Sprinkle Birthday Cake is a homemade take on a “Funfetti” cake mix cake. It was so colorful and fun, but also really REALLY delicious- super moist with fabulous vanilla flavor. The recipe was adapted from The New York Times, contributed by Julia Moskin. I weighed the ingredients, increased the amount of frosting, and modified the decorating techniques.

Make the cake: Heat oven to 325 degrees, preferably on convection, and place a rack in the center.

Butter and line the bottoms of two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Butter the parchment. Flour the pans, coating the bottom and sides, then tap out any excess flour.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a small bowl, stir together milk and vanilla.

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.

Reduce speed to low and, with mixer running, slowly add egg and whites and beat until smooth and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Scrape down bowl.

Add half the flour mixture, then the milk mixture, then the remaining flour mixture, beating to blend after each addition.

Scrape down bowl and blend once more.

Remove bowl and use a spatula or spoon to fold in sprinkles by hand.

Divide batter evenly between the pans (approximately 400 g per pan), and bake until the tops are just dry to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Rotate the pans halfway through baking.

Transfer pans to a wire rack and let cool completely, at least 2 to 4 hours, before turning out.

Make the frosting: In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese, butter and salt together at medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 minutes.

Taste frosting; you should be able to taste the cream cheese and a little bit of saltiness, as well as the sweetness. If desired, add more salt or sugar. Keep refrigerated.

Turn cooled cakes out of pans.

Using a bread knife, cut off any domed or uneven parts of each cake to make flat surfaces.

Place one of the cakes on a platter or a cake stand, cut side up.

Using an offset spatula, frost the top.

Stack the other layer on top, cut side down.

Place remaining frosting on top of the cake and, working from the center outward, frost the top and sides of the cake, as desired. I piped a border around the perimeter of the top of the cake to keep the thick coating of sprinkles on top in place.

Sprinkle the top with a thick layer of sprinkles. Coat the sides with sprinkles as well, if desired.

Refrigerate cake 30 minutes or longer to set. Serve cool.

Note: This recipe would also work well for cupcakes. Fill batter in 12 cupcake liners and bake 17-20 minutes, on convection.

Most people make carrot cake in the springtime… I make it in the fall to celebrate my mom’s birthday. 🙂 It’s one of her absolute favorites. I have made this yummy version several times- they are specialand delicious.

This recipe was adapted from Barefoot Contessa Parties! Ideas and Recipes for Easy Parties that are Really Fun by Ina Garten. I cut the recipe in half to make 12 cupcakes, adjusted the baking times for a convection oven, and used the orange cream-cheese frosting from my favorite (springtime) orange chiffon bunny cake.

Fabulous! A true gold standard. Happy Birthday, Mom. ❤ ❤

Yield: Makes 12 cupcakes

For the Cake:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup plus 2 1/2 T vegetable oil

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 large egg plus 2 T beaten egg

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp coarse salt

1 1/2 cups grated carrots (less than 1/2 pound)

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

For the Orange-Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/4 cup butter, 1/2 stick, room temperature

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature (I used light cream cheese)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

grated orange zest, from about 1/3 of a large orange, about 3/4 tsp

pinch of coarse salt

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

To Make the Cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, preferably on convection.

Beat the sugar, oil, and vanilla together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.

Add the egg, mix to combine. Repeat with the additional 2 T of beaten egg.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.

With the mixer on low-speed, add 1/2 of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.

Add the grated carrots, raisins, and walnuts to the remaining flour, mix well, and add to the batter. Mix until just combined.

Line muffin pan with paper liners.

Using a cookie scoop, scoop the batter into 12 muffin cups until each is 3/4 full.